Tomb Raider: The Gates of Avalon
by The Inkweaver
Summary: Lara has failed to use the stone daises to bring her mother back. Now, she must find another way. But this time, she is up against someone who needs the artefact as much as she does.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note**

This story follows the Tomb Raider Legend storyline, and therefore contains spoilers. However, I have included pre-Legend elements in the story, as I feel they fitted well. Comments and _constructive_ criticism would be much appriciated, and in turn, I will review any of your stories. Thanks.

The Inkweaver.

Tomb Raider: The Gates of Avalon

Starring Lara Croft

Prologue

"_There's something in the light!"_

Lara Croft, Tomb Raider: Legend

_Peru, 1989_

Lara took in a lung full of thin mountain air before grabbing the ledge and pulling up; and turning around to survey the Peruvian landscape stretched before her. The sight was amazing. Blotches of colour of all shades, dark mountains, and great patches of light that shone through the clouds highlighting everything. She flicked her hair out of her eyes before turning from the sight to what lay behind her.

The sight here was almost as beautiful as the aerial view. It was a classic temple, with columns either side of a trapezium shaped doorway, twice as high as Lara. The doors were, of course, closed. Many years ago, it would have been a bustling religious site. Monks, priests and citizens of Vilcabamba would have flooded here to pray everyday, due to its sacred location. Now, moss was growing on the pillars, and plants were climbing up the walls. She checked her watch; fifteen minutes to find a way in. However, all Inca temples had doors that were locked and unlocked from the inside. The doors even opened outwards for the purpose of structure. However, Lara was sure from her studies that the temple had it's own plumbing system and, sure enough, when she walked around the side of the temple, she spotted a small lake, probably man made. She strolled to the edge of the lake and observed the green weed rippling at the side. She turned as if to leave, then ran back, jumping in a graceful arc straight into the depths.

Silence pressed onto her ears as she swam deeper, further towards the bottom with strong, powerful strokes. She had spotted what she was looking for: a stone tunnel carved into the side. She pulled her frame into it, and pulled herself forward with her arms, brushing loose parts of rock aside.

It didn't take long for the tunnel to open up. Lara swam upwards, grabbing the side of the pool and pulling herself out. She was in the cleaning area for the monks. Rocks and debris had fallen from the ceiling, and anything of value had long been stolen. Lara quickly found the way out, into a corridor. It stretched to the left towards the entrance to the temple, and to the right . . . darkness. Lara unhooked a flare from her belt, pulling off the lid. It sparked, lighting the room with dancing shadows and flickering red light. Throwing it into the gloom, Lara set off down the corridor. Both sides of the corridor were lined with columns and the floor was littered with debris. The end of the corridor in sight, Lara crept towards the door with apprehension. As far as she could tell, there were no traps integrated into the frame. She walked through, into an amazing room.

The floor was lined with patterns indented into the stone. The entire room was round in shape, with a domed roof. The walls were also covered with patterns. They were absolutely beautiful. But Lara was drawn to the middle of the room. There was a platform, about a meter high with a column half that height set into the top. The platform was covered with inscriptions and patterns. Lara took out a small digital camera and took some pictures before advancing closer. Traps forgotten, she climbed atop the platform to look at the column. Placed on top, there was a small gemstone, green in colour and covered with the same patterns that aligned the walls. On the top of the platform, there were four deep square imprints into the stone. Lara knelt in front of the column, and checked her watch. Right on time.

At the top of the roof, there was a small hole with a focusing lens in. At noon exactly, the sun shone down in a direct beam of light, hitting the lens and focusing into a sharp beam. The light hit the gemstone, reflecting at four different angles. All of the beams of light hit each imprint on the platform. Instantly, the door began to descend.

"Shit!" Lara leapt to her feet, panicking. In one fluid movement, she grabbed the gemstone from the top of the column, turned around and sprinted for the door. Thrusting the gemstone into a pocket on her backpack, she put on a burst of speed across the room. Her legs aching, she squashed herself under the door and back into the corridor. She got back on her feet as fast as she could, for the corridor had become a death trap. A blade shot out, and Lara jumped, landing awkwardly and almost twisting her ankle. She jumped the next two blades, then dodged around the outside of the forth. A swinging blade came in from the left and she rolled, finally reaching the door. She pulled the handle, and the mechanism activated, opening half a ton of stone, and letting in a burst of sunshine.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One – Myths Galore

"_Myth . . . a limited word, for a limited perspective."_

Amanda Evert, Tomb Raider Legend

_Present, the British Museum. _

Lara had barely slept since the Bolivian Redux. Her footsteps echoed around the hall, and she couldn't help but stop to examine some of the fantastic artefacts around the walls, even in her preoccupied state. She opened the heavy wooden door at the end of the hall and entered a large spacious study. Here, artefacts stood at every available space, and a large part of the room was taken up by a large wooden desk. Lara advanced, sitting down in one of the antique chairs, and looking across at old man occupying the other chair. He said a couple of words into the phone, then hung up, and smiled.

"Lara!" he said, rising and embracing her over the desk.

"Jonathon! You've hardly aged a day!" The old man smiled.

"And you've certainly grown up!" Lara smiled back, before placing a folder on the table. She pushed it across.

"I'm sure Alistair explained the situation to you?" she said. Jonathon flicked open the folder, at the same time placing a pair of glasses on his nose.

"Oh, this is one of your donations isn't it. Yes, I remember that one. We had it out for the Inca exhibition. I think it's in storage at the moment. And, what is this?" He held up an image.

"What do you make of it?" Lara asked. Jonathon examined it.

"Well, first impressions, I would say it is a weapon of some form. I would also be inclined to suspect that it was a ceremonial weapon, as it is clearly not traditional. Deep lines suggest great age, specifically on several points leads me to believe that it has been broken apart several times and reformed."

Lara nodded. Jonathon continued looking through the images, pulling out a photo of an inscription nailed to what looked like a stone platform.

"Ancient Peruvian language here, with a basis in Hebrew."

"Can you translate it?" Lara asked. "The image is several years old, but I put it away and forgot about it."

"Certainly my dear girl." The old man bent closer to the image, switching on a lamp to help illuminate the ancient words.

"Erm, the subject of the inscription appears to be male . . . and was discovered when he pulled out a mighty sword from where it was lodged. Their sun god Inti, smiled upon the boy and gave him orders to create a civilisation. This, the boy did, and with his sword, ruled for many peaceful years before a . . . power struggle, during which the boy was revealed to be of royal blood. He died, and was taken to paradise."

Lara nodded.

"Of course, so similar. And the gemstone?"

Jonathon nodded, reaching into his drawer and pulling out something wrapped in brown paper.

"Take care," he said, pushing it across the table. "There are a lot of very dangerous men who would like to get their hands on this."

"You'd be amazed how persuasive I can be. Even with dangerous men," Lara quipped.

Walking down the steps, Lara flicked open a small umbrella to protect herself from the rain. London had become a dull misty city, and the British Museum did not have many people coming to examine the valuables lurking in it's depths. Lara took out her mobile, and dialled a number.

"Winston. We're finished. Yes, I got what I came for. Five minutes, wonderful."

Lara stepped outside the gates and onto the pavement, dialling a second number.

"Hello, Alister Fletcher speaking?"

"Alister! I've got the stone, and it's as we suspected. The stories match, but there's something different. The boy wasn't given Excalibur. He pulled it out of somewhere."

"Impossible," Alister said. "Totally impossible. Excalibur has never been recorded to have been pulled out of the stone, Lara! My knowledge is not flawed in this area." Lara rolled her eyes. She had forgotten how prickly Alister could be. By this time a black Bentley Continental had drawn up alongside the pavement. Lara shook the rain off her umbrella before putting it down and opening the door. Winston sat inside, professional as ever in his black tuxedo. Lara sat down in the leather seat before closing the door and continuing the conversation.

"Well, I want you to go over all the references to Excalibur and the sword in the stone again. Dig up what you can, and we'll have a look at it tomorrow."

"Right. But I'm telling you, Lara, the references are clear on this one!"

"I understand, Alister." Lara sighed. "I'll see you when I get back."

"Yes, goodbye. See you soon."

Lara terminated the call, unwrapping the brown paper that surrounded the pyramid shaped object in her hand. The gemstone shimmered in the waning light. Shades of green swirled beneath the surface and Lara held it up to her eyes to examine it. Then, she twisted her hands, wrapping the stone in paper again. Winston gave her a strange look as he pulled onto the motorway.

"I assume you left with what you came for then, Lady Croft?"

Lara smiled. She always left with what she went for.

"You know I'm a bad looser, Winston," she said, placing the gemstone inside the glove compartment. Her voice took a more serious tone.

"I found the stone seventeen years ago in a temple belonging to the Incas. I had no idea that it was linked to the sword until I remembered that the only word I could translate on the inscription was 'sword'. And then of course Amanda's stupid Paraiso quest came up and I forgot all about it." Lara's voice took a harder edge. Winston pulled into the fast lane and accelerated to seventy miles an hour. The light was fading fast, and by the time they had returned to Croft Manor, it was almost seven o'clock. Lara ran a bath and soaked for a couple of hours before collapsing onto her bed and falling asleep.

"That was the best sleep I've had in about a week," Lara said to Alister. They were sitting in her room at the table eating croissants and jam. She offered the plate to him, but he shook his head.

"I shall be eating humble pie for the remainder of the day," he said. She looked at him questionably and he slid across a piece of paper.

"I should have expanded my sources slightly. This is a printout from Wikipedia."

Lara picked up the paper and read.

"_In surviving accounts of Arthur, there are two originally separate legends about the sword's origin. The first is the "Sword in the Stone" legend, originally appearing in __Robert de Boron__'s poem __Merlin__, in which Excalibur can only be drawn from the stone by Arthur, the rightful king. The second comes from the later __Post-Vulgate__ Suite du Merlin, which was taken up by Sir __Thomas Malory__. Here, Arthur receives Excalibur from the __Lady of the Lake__ after breaking his first sword in a fight with King __Pellinore__. The Lady of the Lake calls the sword 'Excalibur, that is as to say as Cut-steel'."_

Lara finished reading and looked up. Alister looked slightly embarrassed.

"I must say, ahem, that the most . . . _reliable _. . . parts of the myth indicate that the sword in the stone and Excalibur are two completely different swords. This indicates otherwise."

Lara placed the paper down on the table again.

"We've already established that there were different swords, different stones and even different Authors throughout history. And although the events that happened to them are similar, they are not completely identical. The events happened in a different order, or they had different consequences. Take the English Arthur. Our Merlin was killed and our Excalibur was left in pieces in the hands of the locals. Why couldn't one Arthur take it from a stone and the other from the Lady of the Lake?"

Alister pondered this while pouring the coffee. Lara took the opportunity to place the gemstone on the table. Alister's eyes flicked up.

"Is that it?"

"Yes," Lara said, staring at it. She shook her head slightly. "What do you think it's purpose is?"

Alister picked up the gemstone.

"At a guess . . . to reflect light. All of the faces are even, suggesting that they are designed to reflect light evenly. I'll run some tests."

Lara smiled, but there was something else on her mind. The original location of the gem had been in Peru, but there had been other gems. She still wasn't sure that they were linked to Excalibur, but there were similarities. The base of the gemstone was made of a similar material to the sword, and the stone had been found with an inscription that directly linked the stone to the story of King Author. Also, the last queen of Tiwanaku had lived and ruled in Peru, with the help of the mighty sword.

Lara stood.

"Alister, there are four more gems. I'm not sure what they do, but I want to find out. I saw two of them many years ago, while I was in Tibet. Make the usual arrangements, plane to Asia, and then get me as close to the Barkhang Monastery as you can by helicopter. Tell Winston to prepare my luggage. I've got some phone calls to make."

One hour later, Lara was sitting inside a UH-60a Black Hawk utility helicopter. The copter had last seen action in Iraq an, though it had originally come armed with M60 machine guns, someone had thoughtfully removed them. Lara couldn't help smiling as she stepped onto the aircraft and sat down, swinging her legs beneath the seat. She was wearing her blue jumper and brown jacket she had last worn to Nepal.

Nepal. Memories flooded Lara's mind. She remembered stepping into that room, examining the sword, and most of all, her mother wrenching it out of the stone like her life depended on it.

"Lara!" The thick American accent drifted in through the door. Lara shook her head as if to clear it, as a burly man with prominent ears and a combat jacket entered the copter. He was tall, and could have been quite handsome had his face not been covered in horrific burns. Years ago, while in the RAF, he had crashed behind enemy lines and been unable to escape from the burning death trap that his plane had become. He had been dragged out to safety by a German sentry unit, who had taken him back to base for interrogation. Due to his charisma, it had been easy for him to spark a rebellion, and the base had been captured. Lara smiled, standing up and taking his hand.

"Joe! If you didn't still have that filthy jacket, I wouldn't have known it was you!"

Joe grinned, moving past her towards the cockpit.

"You're not too unaccustomed to getting your hands dirty yourself, I hear. Nishimura told me you'd been globe trotting! Is this another obsession?"

Lara smiled. Joe clearly knew her very well.

In twenty-five minutes, the Hawk was in the air, flying at five thousand meters, over the plains of snow that lay across the plains. Joe strolled casually in from the cockpit during a storm, quite unperturbed by the turbulence. Sitting next to Lara, he rummaged through his backpack, checking everything was in there, before placing a pair of sunglasses onto his nose. After half an hour of battling through heavy weather, the ride evened out slightly, and Joe got up again to check where they were.

"We'll be at the drop off point in twelve minutes. We can't land but they'll let down a rope ladder. The monastery is about a mile to the north from there."

Lara nodded, taking out her sunglasses and putting them on, before checking she had everything: rope, compass, chocolate, medkits, map, beacon, grapple, PLS, headset, binoculars, camera . . .

"T-minus five minutes," called the flight assistant, a tough looking SAS soldier with scars across his face. Lara got up, walking along to the door where the assistant was preparing a rope ladder. A red light had come on. Lara peered through the window, looking for the spot where they would be landing. Joe was standing right behind her, doing up a thick coat. A buzzer sounded, and the light switched to green.

"We've entered the drop-off zone. Now hovering twelve meters above the ground, five thousand three hundred meters above sea level," called the assistant, drawing across the door. "Go, go, go!" he said, chucking the ladder out. Lara grabbed hold of it, descending slowly. She let go halfway down, landing safely in a snow drift. Joe followed suit, gave the thumbs up to the pilot and the helicopter circled once and headed for home. Lara waved once, staring until it was out of sight. Suddenly, she appreciated exactly how quiet Tibet was. Miles and miles of wilderness, nothing to see and nothing to hear. Even the air was thin.

"We'd better get moving," said Joe, taking out his portable GPS tracking system. Lara scoffed; Americans took the fun out of everything.

"While you fiddle with that, I've got a much better method," she said, flicking open her compass. She turned on the spot.

"That way," she said, ploughing through the snow. Joe gave her an exasperated look before plunging after her.

The journey to the monastery was tough because of the depth of the snow, but Lara knew roughly the way, having visited the monastery on her search for the Dagger of Xian. However, she had approached from a different angle, with the use of a snowmobile and a whole lot of luck. At a spot where she would have driven the snowmobile into a pool of water to avoid smashing into the rocks below, she was now forced to take it the slow way, climbing around the side of the pool and diving into the water below. She surfaced, absolutely freezing. Shivering, she made her way to the side of the pool and climbed out. Joe took a slower approach, climbing along so that the exit to the pool was right beneath him, then using a rope to swing down. They strolled through a cave and to the other side where the Barkhang Monastery stood.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Barkhang Monastery

"_Here's your final final resting place, sir."_

Zip – Tomb Raider Legend 

The second Lara stepped into the snowy courtyard she could tell that something was very wrong. There were deep tracks in the snow leading to the enormous doors, both of which had been broken down.

"What the?" Joe said, but Lara had drawn her pistols and was already running towards the monastery. She switched on her headset as she ran, and was immediately patched through to Croft Manor.

"Zip! We've got a problem, an attack on the monastery. Check to see if there have been anymore helicopters arriving at our location."

Behind her, Joe was jabbering orders into a walkie talkie, but the words were lost to her. Zip's voice came into her head.

"Lara, what's going on?"

Lara scowled. "Mercenaries are after my toys. Again."

She legged it up the stairs three at a time to find a deserted hallway and three dead monks lying on the floor, their war sticks broken. Blood was seeping from the bullet wounds in their chests.

"Oh," Lara said, her anger fading. She crouched on the floor and examined the bodies. They were still warm. Sadness flooding through her body suddenly turned to fury. She rose with a determined look in her eye as Joe sprinted into the hall armed with a compact M249 Squad Automatic Weapon.

"Form up!" he said. Lara shook her head.

"Split up, I'll head into the main hall, you head through there. I think there's a ladder that will take you to the walkway above it."

Joe was about to argue, until he saw the look in Lara's eyes. He turned and headed off.

Lara was breathing heavily. Grabbing her pistols, she headed into the main hall.

The hall was huge. At one end, an enormous golden statue of a Buddha towered over the room, watching proceedings with an expressionless face. Apart from the bodies of eleven monks, the hall was empty. Lara was about to examine one when more gunshots rang out.

"Argh!"

Lara's eyes narrowed as a monk came sprinting out of a side room, followed by three mercenaries. Lara flipped to the side as they opened fire, taking down the monk. She fired both pistols taking down a mercenary and catching the others attention. She dodged to the side, firing all the while until they were both dead. Then she proceeded into the side room where the monk had come from.

Cautiously, she tiptoed through a room with a table and books, until she arrived in a small corridor. More bodies lay on the floor, including, to Lara's immense satisfaction, a dead mercenary. She could smell burning paper, and turned the corner to find a smoldering pile of ashes. Cursing, she walked further down the corridor to be met with two broken display cabinets where the two gemstones would have been.

"Zip, I'm going to have a little look around, I expect someone's picked up the gemstones."

She turned around, moving back to the main hall and into the open, under the watchful eyes of the Buddha. She turned to face it and was about to walk towards it when a voice bellowed from behind her.

"Don't move!"

She heard the click of a gun being loaded, and slid her pistols back into their holsters. She turned slowly to face her assailant with her hands on her head. The man was tall, with dark skin, dark clothing and a dark gun; an assault rifle. Lara caught the glint of a green gemstone hanging from his belt. He had a shaven head, with dark beady eyes and a thin scar down the side of his face. Lara smiled; out of the corner of her eye, high above them she could see Joe settling his rifle onto one of the safety rails of the walkway. The man saw what she was doing and turned, as both men opened fire. Gunshots rang throughout the hall and empty cartridges hit the ground with a ringing sound. Lara dived, sliding along the floor and snagging the assailant's gem from his belt. At the same time, Joe threw down a rope to the floor and slid down, firing the M249 SAW. Lara rolled, pulling out her pistols and aiming them. Then, the room exploded with gunfire. Another group of mercenaries had entered from another courtyard and opened fire on Lara, and the assailant had taken the opportunity to run for the statue. She rolled, firing several times, before yelling to Joe.

"He's still got one of the gems! Stop him!"

Joe nodded, following the assailant and firing several times. Lara switched her attention to the mercenaries, taking down two or three, but there were so many. They were spreading out now, and Lara was trapped against a wall. She dodged to the side as they opened fire again, and fired her pistols taking another three out. She turned, rolled and flipped, until they were on her left, then abandoned the fight, sprinting towards the Buddha. The assailant had used a rope to scale the statue up to the arms, and was now standing atop the head, looking down on the proceedings. Joe had been unable to follow, as he had used his ropes earlier.

With a skip and a jump, Lara had thrown her magnetic grapple up towards the arms of the statue and hoisted herself up towards him. He fired several times, but the shots went wide. She was halfway up the statue now, and could see the second gemstone strapped to his backpack. He fired again, and she was forced to push away from the statue, using the grapple to swing onto one of the hands. She aimed her pistol, and shot three times. The man looked precarious, and leapt onto one of the other hands. Lara looked down at the scene below. Joe was trapped against the Buddha, with only his assault rifle against an army of mercenaries. At that moment, half an idea came to her mind. She called down to him.

"Joe! Detonate the statue!"

Joe seemed to understand, for he began rummaging in his backpack. Lara switched her attention back to the assailant, climbing atop another arm and sprinting towards the head of the statue. Hoisting herself up, she fired again at him. At that moment, there was a muffled thump from the base of the statue. The entire thing wobbled. Lara could see Joe scurrying out of the way as the entire thing began to fall forward on top of the army of mercenaries. Lara balanced herself carefully. The assailant wobbled, and almost fell but managed to stay on top of the arm. The statue began to pitch forward. Out of the corner of her eye, Lara spotted the assailant leap to safety onto the walkway surrounding the room. With this option not open to her, she instead jumped backwards, grabbing onto the back of the head. The statue finally fell completely forward, hitting the ground and breaking apart. Lara clung onto the head as it broke apart from the body, skidding along the ground. She spotted the assailant running along the top, attempting to get down the rope that Joe had slid down, but Joe barred his way. What happened next happened so fast, Lara didn't catch it. The assailant fumbled in his jacket, pulling out a handgun. He ran towards Joe, ignoring the burst of gunfire sent his way, and fired.

Unable to see who had been hit, Lara crashed through the doors, rolled off the head and turned around, sprinting back into the hall. Joe's body lay on the hall, bruised an bleeding.

"Joe!" Lara yelled, desperation creeping into her voice. She sprinted to the body and shook him, but to no avail. He was already dead.

Cold . . . complete cold crept through Lara's body. Fury ran through her veins like blood as she got up and turned around on the spot. Readying her guns, she sprinted through the door and out into the freezing courtyard. The assailant was getting away, climbing up a pile of rocks. He paused, taking out his Desert Eagle and firing several times in Lara's direction. She returned fire, running towards him. He swore, turning around and climbing again towards the top of the cliff. Lara reached the bottom and began to climb, sheer fury fueling her body. The assailant had already reached the top, and ran on. Lara reached the top unharmed and sprinted along the top of a huge hill, following the footprints in the snow. The assailant was up ahead, starting a snow mobile. He started it, and the engine sounded. With no time to grab another one, Lara pulled her magnetic grapple from her belt as the machine sped towards her. She threw it accurately, attaching it onto the front and rolling to the side. She braced herself for the tug, and lurched forward as the snow mobile pulled her forwards. It wasn't the most dignified way to travel, and Lara received more than one mouthful of snow. The assailant had got his Desert Eagle out again, and fired behind him. Lara held on grimly, but her eyes widened when she saw what was up ahead: a deep chasm. The assailant gunned the motor. The mobile flew over . . . but Lara didn't. She swung, disconnecting the grapple and lunging forwards, grabbing the sheer wall of the chasm and clinging on for dear life. She climbed carefully to the top of it, before getting out and collapsing in the snow.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Into the Jungle

"_Death by irony is always painful. Amateurs."_

Lara Croft – Tomb Raider Legend 

Back at Croft Manor, Lara strolled into the server room dressed in a white shirt and jeans.

"Who was he?" she asked, her voice hard. Zip clicked a mouse, bringing up an image of the assailant.

"This guy's got about a million names. He was spotted in America five years ago under the name of Shaun Night, just before the 9/11 tragedy. He was also seen in Hong Kong last year under the name Chen Ko, where he thwarted a CIA operation to gather valuable information on a terrorist group. He has links to Al-Quaeda, AIG, Hezbollah and is believed to be of the Jewish faith. He was born and educated in America but returned to his roots six years ago at the age of fifteen. This makes him twenty-one. He has no criminal record and is currently living under the name of Akiba Juden."

"So . . . he's an assassin?"

"Assassin, bounty hunter, merc, terrorist . . . he does whatever is required."

"So who is he working for?" Lara asked. Zip shrugged.

"Try Nishimura. He seems to know what's going on in the world."

Lara nodded. "Right, there are five gems. We've got two, he has one. Alister is trying to determine the location of the other two. The monastery did contain other parchment that wasn't burnt, so he's looking through there. I'm also going to try and get hold of the books that were also liberated from the monastery by the U.S army."

Zip nodded.

"They've sent me something, by the way. An image."

He pulled it up on the screen. It featured a stone dais, identical to its counterparts in Nepal, Bolivia and Cornwall. Lara leaned in to examine it. Like the others, it was in pieces, already been used once.

"Yes, exactly the same. Where was it found?"

"In the catacombs beneath the monastery. There were a couple of mercenaries down there as well, but they surrendered relatively quickly."

Lara nodded, distracted. Zip paused as Alister entered the room. Lara turned towards him.

"What have you found?"

Alister shuffled his feet.

"Lara, should these gemstones be linked to Excalibur and, therefore Avalon, I think we must be willing to accept the possibility that Amanda has at least one, if not both of the remaining gemstones." Lara nodded.

"I know. Or Rutland. It's likely that she deposited the artifacts with him."

Alister cleared his throat. "I've also found several references throughout the monk's work to some sort of gate."

Lara paused. "There's another way in?"

"It's early yet. But I think it's a strong possibility."

"And you believe that the gemstones could unlock the gate?" said Zip?

"It's a possibility," Lara said. She turned towards the door.

"Zip, contact Nishimura, see if he knows anything about our friend. Alister, get James Rutland Senior on the phone. Ask him if he knew anything about Amanda, and if he does, try to find out where she kept the artifacts. If he asks, you're a police officer looking for some missing artifacts and a missing girl. If he doesn't know, just get me Rutland's base of operations. You've got one hour, no excuses."

Lara turned, heading for the door, fortunately not spotting Zip, who was pretending to hang himself.

_Twenty four hours later_

Lara donned her climbing gear: brown top and shorts, climbing boots and utility belt. It felt good to be back in it, as if they were finally getting closer to he mother. Alister had uncovered a link between the inscription in Peru, and the thick jungles of Mexico. She had travelled there overnight, and slept for three hours in a small hut on the edge of the forest. She tightened her belt, and switched on her headset.

"Zip, are you there?"

It took a moment for the device to function, but a second later, Zip's voice was coming through loud and clear.

"We're with you all the way, Lara. Unless you fall in a trap. In which case, we're right back here nice and safe-like."

"While I'm out here doing all the dirty work," she said, pulling open the door of the hut. She turned around, facing the Kerala forest.

It was like nothing she'd ever seen before. Kilometers of tangled shrouded woodland as far as the eye could see.

"Hmm, what secrets lurk within?" Lara asked herself. She took a few tentative steps into the forest, and looked around. Already, the opening she had made seemed smaller.

"Alister, where do I need to go?" she said, fishing out her compass.

"Erm, you need to proceed south-east for about a mile."

"Right, Zip have you got satellite photos yet?"

"Working on it," Zip said, tapping on the keyboard.

Lara took a deep breath and plunged into the wildlife. It was dark, because of the great umbrella like leaves on the trees, and only a small amount of dappled sunlight shone through. Looking around, Lara could see all manner of insects and animals. Butterflies whisked their way through the tangled branches, birds twittered and a millipede was making it's slow way up the bark of a tree. The journey was difficult, and Lara had to cross a swamp at one point. At one point, she thought she saw a bear winding it's way through the woods, but it had vanished the second she tried to go for a closer look. Flowers bloomed all different colours: blue, pink, purple, green, yellow, orange, red. Lara switched off the headset for a while, and just let herself be relaxed. She loved the way that she could just walk through such a beautiful environment and no one would care. She loved the way the birds swooped, the swamp gargled and the trees stretched to the sky.

Having been trooping through the forest for over an hour now, Lara switched on her headset.

"Zip, any luck with those satellite photos?"

Zip's voice was fuzzy, as the signal was poor in this area.

"We got photos, but we can't locate the tomb. Alister, are you sure you're right about this one?"

"Right? Of course I'm right! That inscription mentioned the Kerala jungle several times, and each time it referred to a tomb! I don't know why I bother, I really don't. I should go for another job."

"Alister, I don't know why you bother to threaten to go for another job as this is the only place your knowledge can be of any use anyway. Stop moaning and double check the location of the tomb. Zip, have you had any luck with Rutland Senior?"

"In a word . . . no. Told me that he'd never heard of Amanda and told me to . . . go away, but in slightly more colourful language than that."

Lara sighed. "In that case, I want you to get into his computer files. Dig up anything you can and report back to me."

Zip rubbed his hands and cackled. It wasn't often Lara gave him permission to hack into private files.

"Alister, find me the exact location of this tomb, and give me all the info. Five minutes."

She walked forward, looking left and right for any clue that may lead her to the entrance of the tomb. However, as she moved forwards, she could see that there was a clearing. Not a messy clearing like when a tree falls. This was a perfect circle in the middle of the forest and it looked man made.

"Zip, is the any deforestation happening in this part of the forest?" Lara asked.

"Nope, I checked before you set off. No activities are due in this section before 2008 at the very earliest."

"Hmm, maybe they've started early," Lara said. She drew her pistols and advanced carefully, pushing through the trees into the clearing. She was surprised to find no mass destruction taking place, but what she saw was twice as interesting.

In the middle of the clearing, there was an enormous trap door made of stone. It was also circular, and it was made of many tiny segments. On the segments and around the edge, there were beautiful patterns, almost like . . .

Lara's heart stopped.

"Oh gods! Zip! I know where the gems are meant to go!"

All the memories were rushing back to her, the temple in Peru, the four deep imprints . . . and the corridor of traps.

"Peru! The temple. Where I got the first gemstone. That was already in place, and I thought it was there for protection. I thought the priests had hidden it there, but . . ." she forced herself to slow down, and took a deep breath.

"That temple at Vilcabamba _is_ the Gateway of Avalon. It all makes sense. The gems are made to reflect light, and there was a focusing crystal in the ceiling for that purpose. These patterns directly link this trap door to the temple."

Zip pondered this for a moment.

"I'll run it past Alister when he gets back. In the meantime, we have to figure out how to get into this trap door."

"Give me a minute."

Lara sank onto her knees in the middle of the stone door. The patterns all spawned from the middle, winding in and out of each other like snakes, but each seemed to have a purpose. Lara examined the middle, and rubbed it uncertainly. Dust flicked up to reveal – a bright green gemstone stone, also circular in shape. The patterns all seemed to spawn from it. Lara looked for a second, before realising that these security systems were all linked. She stood up, taking the pyramid shaped gemstone out of her backpack. She held it up to the sun and light hit it, reflecting directly onto the gem in the middle of the trap door.

Instantly, it lit up with green light, and the patterns that spawned from it began to light up as well. Like some contagious disease, the power spread over the door, reaching right to the edges. Lara stepped back as, with a great rumbling noise, the many segments that made up the door began to retract into the wall. Staring down into the hole, she saw . . . only blackness. The door had revealed a metal rim around the edge of the hole. Perfect. She pulled on her magnetic grapple and attached it to the metal rim, before taking a deep breath . . . and swinging into the gloom.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four – The Tomb of Forgotten Memories

"_Everything lost is meant to be found."_

Lara Croft – Cradle of Life

Lara descended for what felt like years. Darkness pressed in around her, and she felt colder every centimetre. Apart from the perfect circle of light far above her, the pit was completely dark. She could smell the death here, and it was hard to believe anyone else had ever been here, yet they must have done.

"Alister, Zip. Talk to me."

Their voices came back, but they were mixed with static.

"Lara, I've found obscure references to the tomb. It is called 'the Tomb of Forgotten Memories' and was a tomb for important kings and queens. Nearly all of them wielded Excalibur at some point."

"Then why didn't they use a dais to go to Avalon?" Lara pondered aloud. "We've established that there were four, perhaps there were others."

"Lara, we're still not sure how the daises worked. We can't even begin to guess how many there were until we discover what powers them."

"Well, that's obvious. Excalibur does."

"No, Lara! Excalibur _activated _the daises. There's a difference."

Lara sighed.

"Right, of course. Where did you get this from, by the way?"

"I've been looking through the papers retrieved by the Barkhang Monastery. The monks have known about Avalon and the passages there for centuries. Their dais was activated over two thousand years ago by a wise and powerful shaman."

"Yes . . ." Lara said, thinking. "Well, I'm going to continue. If we loose contact, don't worry."

"OK, Lara."

"All right."

Lara took a deep breath, and continued her descent. Her feet came into contact with hard stone when she reached the bottom. She flicked on her PLS and glanced around.

Coffins lined the earthen walls, placed on wooden shelves and spider webs were spun across the walls and floor.

"Hello?" Lara called, experimentally. There was no reply, apart from her own echo. It seemed that there was no signal here. She was on her own, like all those years ago in Napal. Sometimes she preferred it that way, others she just wanted the company of another human. Preferably one that wasn't trying to kill her. The floor was covered with dirt, and there were torch brackets in the walls. Lara looked around and, after a moments frantic searching, discovered a door in the opposite wall. Naturally, it was closed and locked. Fortunately, the mechanism wasn't so hard to find, a large lever right next to it.

"Hmm," Lara said, just to hear her own voice again. She didn't like obvious levers; they were always attached to some trap. Tentatively, she pulled it down, then stopped. The door ascended upwards. Lara listened. Sounds were echoing throughout the tomb. Ancient cogs were turning . . . _and the circular trap door was slowly closing up!_

"Oh bother!" Lara cursed. By the current rate of speed, she estimated that she only had about an hour. "Well, I'd better hurry up, then." She advanced through the door into another room, wider and larger than the last. Parts of the floor had gone, and there were coffins placed on wooden shelves here as well on the parts of the floor that were still there. Over the other side of the room, she could see another door.

"Well, this ought to be quite exhilarating," she murmured, before leaping onto the nearest piece of floor that was still intact. It wobbled dangerously, and she leapt to the next before it fell. This part seemed safer, until there was a loud crunching sound from below.

"Oh!" Lara said, before jumping over to the next one and grabbing the edge. Immediately, it began to fall.

"Argh!" Lara said, jumping up as quick as she could, and back flipping onto the one behind that hadn't collapsed yet. She then jumped as hard as she could, hitting the part of rock furthest from the edge and balancing it. It tilted this way and that, until she found the middle. Dust rose up from the bottom, and Lara took a deep breath. Then there was a thud. Dislodged by the sudden swaying, one of the coffins from the racks had fallen onto her piece of floor.

"Oh crap."

Once again, the floor piece swayed. And Lara ran, as fast as she could, for the door in the opposite side of the wall. There was a thin lip running along beneath it where part of the floor must have been. If she could just . . .

She jumped, arms swinging, then reached out as far as she could, grasping the thin lip with one of her hands. Made it! She reached up with the other hand, grabbing the lip and . . . the lip fell away.

"Argh!" Lara screamed. Cold air rushed past her as she fell, fast and _SPLASH!_

Cold, salty water enveloped her and she felt herself floating towards the surface, but forced herself to swim down. A second later, a huge piece of debris hit the surface of the water. Lara pushed deeper, searching for underwater passages or anything that could help her. She decided to go up for air . . . and found her way back to the surface blocked by a piece of debris. Lara felt herself begin to panic, but forced herself to stay calm. She swam back down using her PLS to help guide her and discovered that there was another way out of the pool. Blocked up by dirt and debris, but it was obviously there. Lara swam closer, and seized it with both hands, pulling with all her strength. A small amount of dirt mingled with the water. Lara pulled harder, still the debris refused to budge. Her lungs exploded in a silent scream, sending a stream of bubbles up to the top as she pulled one last time. The mud shifted, the blockage collapsed. Lara pulled herself through the tiny gap into another pool room, this one full of water as salty as the first. She hit the surface and took a deep breath . . . and heard a voice in her ear.

"Lara!" It was Zip. "I've found a way to boost the signal. Quality's a bit crap, but it's better than nothing. That stunt was kick arse, girl!"

"Why, thank you, Zip," Lara said, coughing water from her lungs. The salt had made her feel extremely thirsty and she had nothing to drink. Now she was on the surface, she looked up. Above her, there was a low ceiling with small holes in, that went straight through into another room above. Although most of the holes were small, there was a great gap where a piece of debris had fallen through. Lara lifted herself out into the next area.

As she pulled herself into the room, something draped across her shoulder. She pulled it in front of her face, and examined it. It was a long piece of rope that hung from the ceiling, with a thick knot tied at the end. There were four of them all together, each hanging over a hole in the floor.

"Zip, what do you think these are for?"

"Urm . . . I haven't got a clue."

"Me neither," admitted Alister, a tad reluctantly.

"Right, I'll have to go and find out," Lara said. She jumped, grabbing the rope and pulling herself upwards where she could see a door in the side of the wall. Clearly, there would have been a floor here once upon a time. She jumped, grabbing a small lip where the floor would have been attached. She pulled up quickly, pushing open the door and into a large chamber.

This room was enormous. Pillars lined the walls, stretching high into the shadowy ceiling. At the end, there was a gigantic platform, accessible from a set of marble steps. There were more coffins here as well, but rather than stuffed on wooden shelves, they were laid on stone bases in the middle of the floor. Lara bent closer to read the inscriptions.

_Isaakas Strem_

_Sileo In Pacis_

_Adamus Jastema_

_Sileo In Pacis_

There were no dates, and the coffins themselves were made of stone, not wood. There were patterns etched into the sides, though some had eroded away by now. Lara stepped in and out of the coffins on the ground towards the platform in the middle of the room. She mounted the marble steps and walked to the top of the platform. Here, there was just one coffin, and a beautiful wooden bookstand shaped like a tree with a bird on top stretching its wings. A large book was placed here, but Lara investigated the coffin first. It was much larger than any other one in the room, and had more beautiful patterns carved down the side. They were exactly the same as the ones that had crossed the way in . . . Lara remembered suddenly that she had to hurry up. She only had a limited time left. She bent closer to examine the inscription . . . and received the shock of her life.

_Lord Richard Croft_

_Sileo In Pacis_

Lara retched, her frame shuddering with the utter shock of seeing her father's name. She had always thought . . . always known that there wasn't much chance that he was alive . . . but . . . to finally see his name on a coffin . . . she ran to the edge of the platform, shaking and retching, although there was nothing to bring up. Tears had sprung to her eyes, prickling her vision and for thirty seconds, she couldn't move.

A minute later, she felt better, and found the strength to walk over to the book stand and examine the book. It had a dark leather cover with nothing on the front or spine. But as Lara touched it, something lit up on the front. It was a symbol that looked suspiciously like the Ghalali Key, and light shone from it in a strange way. Lara flicked open the book, and read the first few lines for Zip's benefit.

"_Qui cado ex vita vadum orior oriri ortus iterum ludo suum denique secui_," she said. "Zip, did you hear that?"

There was no reply. Obviously, his piece of gadgetry hadn't worked. She was about to place the book into her bag when she heard something; a loud crack. She turned to see that the coffin on the top of the platform had split into two very separate pieces, and that there was a huge crack down the middle.

Lara's breath caught in her chest. Trembling, she watched the human remains of her father rose from the coffin. It had once been her father, now stripped of most of his flesh. Richard Croft rose again. He took a step forwards and opened his mouth. He spoke in a thin rasping voice.

"What you are searching for is pure evil, an abomination against nature. We tried to force our way through, and now we are trapped, neither living nor dead. Here for the command of the book."

In horror, Lara slipped the book carefully into the backpack. Her father seemed to know what had happened. He took a step forward. Lara had to control a mad urge to run to him. Instead, she turned, rolling off the platform and down to the other coffins, all of which were splitting. Creatures were pushing their way out of the rubble and moving towards Lara. She readied her pistols, firing left and right. They were quite fragile, but they didn't seem to stay down. And there were so many of them.

Lara reached the door, and pulled it open. The wooden coffins here had burst open as well. Fortunately, there was a gap between them and Lara. She dived, into the salty water below, following a tunnel downwards. But when she arose, she realised that she had taken a wrong turn. She had risen in a small pool in a gigantic room. It stretched under the entire tomb, and at one end, there was a great stone door. Lara looked around. It seemed safe for the moment as there were no coffins here. She pulled herself out, and looked around. There was a trap door above her that could lead to the way she had come in, if she could only work out how to get it open. There was a level by the side, so she walked over and pulled it down. The door fell through, giving her access, but there was a screeching of rusty chains as the enormous door at the far end began to ascend. Lara knew that whatever was coming, it wouldn't be good.

It was bad. Very bad. From under the door came a thick orange liquid. It was steaming, and was clearly very hot.

"Oh great, I've found the central heating system!" Lara muttered. Quickly, she sprinted to the wall, pushing her feet into whatever footholds she could find and beginning her ascent. The lava was getting thicker, following her with some grim determination. She pulled herself up another meter, then another, and then turned around to look at the trap door. The small flaps glinted in the light of her PLS and then, she had an idea. She unhooked her magnetic grapple and threw it at the flaps. It caught, and Lara tugged briefly before letting go of the rock face. She swung, a centimetre over the lava and pulling herself up frantically. When she neared the top, she leaped off the grapple and up the trap door, finding herself, luckily in the place she had started. High above her, a tiny circle of light winked back at her. Knowing that she had only minutes, she grabbed hold of a chain that was operating the door and began to pull herself up. The way up seemed a long way. Below, she could see her father brandishing his fist, as he also took hold of the chain in one hand and began to climb towards her. No. Not her father. What had been her father. Lara felt her heart speed up, and climbed faster. She reached up towards the door that was closing rapidly – and felt her stomach go cold. Something had grabbed hold of her ankle. She kicked with all her might, but her father would not let go. She felt a tear trickling down her cheek. At the same time, she pulled out her pistol, aiming it down towards him, and fired.

BANG

Richard's head was blown off his neck, falling to the floor and shortly followed by the rest of him. Lara reached up to the trap door. There was still room for her to get out. She grabbed the edge, pulling herself out, into the bright Indian sunlight. For perhaps five minutes, she lay there, sobbing wildly. Then, the door clanged shut.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five – Amanda's Research

"_And according to Amanda's research, it's here."_

James Rutland, Tomb Raider Legend

Lara returned to Croft Manor that very day. By the time she got there, it was already dark, for the English weather had soon grown bored with the summer sunshine. Lara hadn't even bothered with a bath, and was still filthy when she walked into the library, where Zip and Alister were waiting. It was hard for Alister to conceal his disgust at her dirty figure, and even Zip winced.

"All right. Give me everything you have."

Zip tapped away at a computer on the desk, while Alister filled her in.

"The Tomb of Forgotten Memories was where all the great people who had wielded Excalibur went when they died, if they hadn't been lucky enough to find a gateway to Avalon first. Their servants went there as well."

"But what did . . ." Lara stopped. They didn't know about the dead coming to life. The camera and mike had both gone offline at that point, and if she bought it up, despite all they'd seen together, she didn't feel confident enough to tell them.

"I saw something when the camera went offline, an . . . inscription. It said "What you are searching for is evil. We tried to force our way through, and now we are trapped. Here for the command of the book." What does that mean?"

Alister looked at her. He could see that something was wrong.

"That . . . inscription probably refers to the people in the tomb. Trapped? Possibly they are unable to pass on."

Lara looked pensieve. Alister leaned over the table.

"I think that there was more going on in that temple than you would lead us to believe."

Lara nodded, placing her knuckle in her mouth. She had always done that when she was upset. Even when she was a child.

Without a word, she placed the book on the table. Alister turned it around, and glanced at the first few pages.

"It contains the names of everyone buried here."

"What about that part at the start?"

Alister read it.

"It's Latin. It commands . . . the dead to . . . rise for their . . . final purpose." He looked up, suddenly understanding the look in Lara's eyes.

"Oh, Lara. It wasn't . . . Lara I'm sorry."

She buried her head in her hand, then sniffed, her eyes glistening. Then, all of a sudden, she looked up.

"Any other leads?" she asked.

"Yes. We have some of Amanda's research." Zip said. Lara looked at him.

"Really? How much?"

"We've got about half of it off Rutland Senior. He kept the other half back, he wants more money."

Lara sighed.

"Lets have a look," she said, pulling across a large folder. She flipped it open and flicked through.

It was a treasure hunter's dream. Here, there were theories on what the stone daises were. Here, there were images of Excalibur. Here there was a thirteenth century image of the Lady of the Lake. And here . . . the Gates of Avalon. Lara's hands trembled as she turned the pages, looking at the drawings and examining the writing of her own friend, made years ago.

_The daises are the only ways into Avalon, and there were only four of those made, three of which have been used. Each dais is placed at a specific point where the fabric of the universe is weak. This is why there are only four of them. However, there is one other way in; the Gateway. It is not positioned at a point of weakness, and therefore requires immense amounts of power to function. However, what is clear about the gateway is that it has the power to function for a longer amount of time, allowing the gateway to stay open and allow more than one passage through either way. In theory, the gateway could function multiple times, but in practice the entire contraption is highly unstable, and could possibly explode if open too long._

Lara felt her pulse racing again as she realised what this meant. If Amanda was right then there was not only a way into Avalon, but also a way back. She turned to the next page, but the research ended there. On the back of the page, there was a picture, a symbol of a triangle.

"What did you say about this research? Rutland has the other half?"

"That's what he's saying. He just wants more money, basically."

Laa considered the symbol for a moment.

"He's a liar."

Zip looked up. The light of adventure was tingling again in Lara's eyes.

"Amanda always used to admire the Illuminati for their use of symbols, so she adopted the Illuminati triangle as her own symbol. Anything like this that had the symbol on would have been hidden by her in her vault. I can remember her paranoia, and it must have only increased when we . . . abandoned her."

Alister watched her for a moment.

"So the rest of the research is in Amanda's vault?"

"Yes," Lara said. She was already getting up. She walked to the door of the study, then turned.

"Zip, I want you to study the research, see if there are any clues as to where the vault could be located. I also want you to track down that assassin. Find out where he's been, and if there are any common denominators. Alister, call Rutland again. Let him know we're on his tail."

Alister nodded. Lara turned to leave, but then:

"Has it occurred to you, Lara, that we're chasing shadows here?"

Lara looked back. Alister looked uncomfortable.

"It's just that . . . we have no idea where the other gemstones are. It's a big world, and lets face it, we don't even know who else is after them. And even if we did, they have an army of mercenaries at their disposal. We've got virtually no leads, we don't know where the vault is, or how it is disguised."

"What are you saying?" Lara said, her voice tight with emotion. Alister took a deep breath.

"What I'm saying, is that we're not likely to be getting very far with this. We've already lost one friend. What if it's Nishimura next time, or Zip, or you?"

Lara looked at Zip, and found that he was looking up. They had obviously discussed this earlier.

"You're living in the past, Lara. It's time to look to the future." Alister went on. "You could sell the gem, make another fortune and continue your exploits. Maybe even settle down for a while."

There was a long silence. Then, Lara took a single stride towards Alister.

"Listen up, because I'm only going to say this once," she said, cold fury blazing in her voice. Zip and Alister visibly quailed. "Until I have exhausted every single way into Avalon, until I am dead or unable to continue, I will find a way in. I will bring her back, and make up for my mistake." The next words were spoken with such absolute conviction and determination that Lara almost rose into the air.

"My father died looking for her. And so will I. I _will _find her. Even if it takes forever."

She glared at them, and for a second, no one did anything. They had almost stopped breathing. Lara turned on her heel, and walked out of the room.

_The next day_

After a refreshing bath and a good nights sleep, Lara felt much better. Her entire figure seemed to radiant light as she descended the steps into the living room of Croft Manor. Winston was sitting at the coffee table with a tray of teacups and a teapot.

"Morning," Lara said, sitting down.

"Good morning, Lady Croft," he said, pouring a cup of tea for her. She picked it up on the saucer and drank. Winston smiled and pushed a folder across the table towards her. She put the cup down and opened the flap, taking a wad of digital photos out. The images featured a large temple, set deep in a forest. The second picture contained an image of a car drawn up alongside the entrance, and a shadow of a helicopter could be seen. The next image featured a male getting out of the jeep. Even with the poor quality, Lara could make a good guess at who it was. The last image was of the helicopter touching down. Lara could see a silhouette of an unusually tall male standing in the hatch, dressed completely in black robes. Unfortunately, Lara couldn't make out his face. Attached to this image was a post-it note. Lara recognised Zip's scruffy handwriting: _Positive identity for man in car: Akiba Juden. Man in helicopter – unrecognisable. Photos taken by journalist, body turned up yesterday afternoon floating in a river._

"Do you believe that they are looking to activate the gateway?" Winston asked.

"Yes. They broke into the monastery to look for the gemstones, or to activate the dais. They want to get into Avalon," Lara answered, looking through the photos again. Above the temple doors, which were locked, she could see a triangle cut into the rock.

"That's it." She said. She stood up decisively. "Winston, get me the location of the temple off Zip, then prepare my hand luggage. I want to be there in under twelve hours."

It didn't take long for Lara to reach the island of Madagascar. The bright sunshine seemed to highlight every colourful fruit and berry, reflecting off the turquoise waves that lapped hungrily around the island. It was simply beautiful, Lara thought, surveying the island from her vantage point at the top of a cliff. Dressed once again in her brown shirt, she examined the entire island with her binoculars. Beyond the cliffs, she could see small towns along the edge of the water, but much of the island was covered with dense jungle. She peered over the cliff, and almost tripped over something lying on the floor: an abandoned tripod. It had obviously been used to support a camera. Lara carefully nudged it with her toe.

_This must be where the photographer took the photos _she thought, and placed the binoculars to her eyes again. She suddenly saw dark grey smoke roiling above the treetops. Exhaust! She zoomed in closer towards the ground, and finally spotted the jeep. Between the trees, she could also spy the temple, and marching up the steps . . .

"Aha, there's our elusive mister Juden. I'll be paying him a visit soon enough," Lara said. Zip whistled in her ear.

"Oooh, I'd hate to be him!"

Lara replaced the binoculars before sliding, quickly but steadily, down the cliff to the bottom of the cliff. Drawing both guns, she yelled through the trees:

"Hey, Juden!"

Instantly, the man stopped, turning around and drawing a rifle. Another man was getting out of the jeep. Marching through the trees, Lara shot him twice. He fell, blood spilling over the seat as he slumped backwards, then fell out and hit the floor with a dull thud. Juden aimed the rifle at her but, too late, she fired. Both shots found their marks; one in the left shoulder and one in the right thigh. Juden's body crumpled, the rifle slipped out of his grasp as he tumbled down the stairs and hit the jungle floor right at Lara's feet.

"I'm here to terminate your employment. Rather unexpectedly, I know, but we feel that we no longer require your services. Now," she said firmly, for Juden showed signs of butting in, "Who are you working for?"

Juden looked up, his face impassive. Even the bullets buried deep in his arm and leg seemed not to hurt him.

"You'll get nothing from me!" he hissed. Even his eyes were snakelike. Lara looked straight into them, and said "If you do not tell me, I will kill you."

The assassin laughed. "I killed your friend, and still you give me an opportunity to live?" He spoke with an extremely strong accent, but Lara couldn't quite place it. "At least I will die having fulfilled my purpose. You . . . you are incomplete. You won't give up! But neither will he, and he is better, he has more!"

"More what?" Lara asked desperately, determined to gain some information about her enemy.

"More knowledge, more ideas, more resources!" Juden spat. "And he has something that you don't know! You may have a gemstone and the sword, but he will have power that he can hold in the palm of his hand! He will be _invincible!_" Lara stared at him. She stared into his eyes and saw insanity. This was a man grasping at the edge of death.

He had killed her friends.

She raised her pistol to his head.

Her finger tightened on the trigger.

She fired.

Birds erupted from the nearby trees in alarm. Juden slumped forward, hitting the floor. Lara stared into his cold dead eyes with no emotion. Then she turned, and began to climb the temple steps.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six – The Temple of Broken Beauty

"_I'm falling in love, all over again."_

Lara Croft – Tomb Raider Legend

The great stone doors were, of course, locked. Lara checked the pillars and walls surrounding the entrance, but there was no visible mechanism that would allow her entry. Then she looked at the floor, but there was nothing of interest. She was about to step back onto the stairs when all of a sudden, the stone floor plate she was standing on wobbled. Excited, she shifted her weight again, and it shook. Adrenaline coursing through her system, she got onto the steps, grabbing the side of the stone plate and began to push with all her might. Slowly, it began to rise, displacing dust and insects. She shoved the stone against the doors so that it leant there, then began to dust off the dirt and filth. Her hand touched something, a small lump in the rock. She withdrew, then touched it again, pushing it with her hand. It began to move, as if on a track. She pulled it around a bit, then discovered two more lumps, that also moved along. There _was _a track, indented into the rock. Lara brushed off the rest of the dirt, and smiled when she saw what it was. A triangle.

With difficulty, because the lumps were so stiff, she shoved them into their positions on the triangle. Once there, they locked into place. Lara smiled as the last one locked into place, and looked up expectantly at the doors. But instead, the ground suddenly gave way underneath her, dropping her into a passage about three meaters underground. She strolled along briefly, then came to a wall. Carefully, she climbed up to find herself on the other side of the two doors. She smiled.

"Amanda's been here before," she said. "She couldn't get into the temple, so she dug underneath it, disguising the tunnel. This is where she hid her research!"

"Lara. That's brilliant!" Alister's voice came through. "If she did have a gem, it's sure to be here!"

"And you can pick up the rest of the research," Zip added.

Lara then looked around the room. The stone walls were beginning to crumble, but there were shelves to search and a desk. She couldn't stop herself smiling. Amanda was such a fanatic about tombs, she even had to work in one. Lara strolled over to the desk and started emptying drawers at random she soon found the rest of the research, and placed it on the desk.

"I've found it!"

"Really? Read it aloud!" Alister said. Lara took a deep breath.

"Because the gateway is liable to explode if it is activated, the monks of Vilcabamba felt the need to install a protective device. Only if the four gemstones are placed into the device will it unlock, revealing the device for all to see. The gateway is build over a dormant volcano, though should the gateway be unlocked, the volcano will become active for the purpose of powering the gateway. Excalibur must then be inserted into the stone, and taken out, similar to how the dais' work. If the device is unlocked without the gemstones, the user will be condemned to a life not worth living."

Lara stopped reading, and stowed the research inside her backpack. She was thinking of her father. Had she rescued him from an unbearable death of torment, or made it a reality?

"The gateway will get me into Avalon. It will function long enough for me to get my mother then get back," she said, looking through the shelves. "Aha." She pulled out a pyramid shaped green gemstone. "Brilliant."

"Indeed. Stop right there."

Lara turned around so fast, she almost dropped the stone. Standing at the entrance there stood four men. Two were mercenaries, armed with rifles. It didn't take much time to imagine where they were aiming. There was also another man, dark skinned and had a resemblance to Juden, the dead mercenary. In his right hand, he carried a sawn off shotgun, and was casually loading shells into it. The forth man was lean and tall, with a single scar running down the left side of his face. His head was shaven, but that wasn't what drew Lara's gaze. No, what was getting her attention was his eyes. They were burning with a harsh bright blue light. Lara looked into those eyes and felt the urge to stumble backwards. As she looked at him, she realised that that wasn't all. On his right hand, he wore a metal gauntlet, silver in colour but with a tinge of blue. It seemed plain enough, but like the eyes it seemed to radiate an unspeakable power. The man wore a black robe that covered all but his head, and his other hand was covered in a black glove.

For a moment, facing such an impressive person, Lara felt absolutely petrified. Her hand felt loose on the gemstone but she had completely forgotten it. Then she came to her senses. Tucking the gemstone into her belt, she spoke to the . . . person.

"Who are you?"

The person laughed, but there wasn't a single ounce of happiness. That laugh just spoke of a thousand deaths.

"Once, I was human like you. But my exploration took me too deep, into the heart, the very soul of evil. Here I found an amulet. It promised me power, and I followed it until I found . . . a tomb. Deep within it, there was a chamber of poison and here I found a gauntlet."

He lifted the enormous metal object that surrounded his hand.

"But I was foolish, for once I placed the gauntlet on my hand, it would not come off! And yet I marvelled at the power it gave me. For with this, I can take life!"

And in a sweeping motion, the person swung around, his black robes billowing, and clenched the fist of the gauntlet. At once, ripples of blue light began to form around the gauntlet and around the nearest mercenary. He yelled as they began to concentrate around his chest, vibrating madly. Suddenly, his eyes rolled. The gauntlet unclenched and the body fell to the floor. Lara's eyes had widened. This was a person who could and would kill her in an instant.

"I stripped myself of my name and gender in order to survive this madness and gave myself a new name: Apocalypse. But I found I could no longer feel pain. This power comes at a terrible price, woman. Evil surrounds the heart until it stops beating, but it is impossible to die. You just exist, without love, life or death. There is no cure. Or so I thought."

The thing took a step forward. Lara braced herself, checking that the gemstone was still in her belt, then looked it straight in the eye.

"If your own foolishness led you into this poison, then don't expect me to get you out."

With that, she leapt through the air, jumping off the head of Apocalypse and grabbing onto one of the chains hanging from the ceiling. Apocalypse turned, ready to clench the gauntlet and the other mercenary aimed his rifle upwards. Lara jumped again, knocking the mercenary over and throwing his aim towards Apocalypse. He tried to stop himself from firing but – too late. Bullets sped through the air towards the black clad figure, knocking him backwards but causing no wounds. Lara had almost reached the underground passage when the body of the merc hit the wall above her with a sickening crunch and fell down, almost landing on top of her. She rolled, and pulled herself up so that she was back at the opening of the temple, in front of the locked doors. As fast as she could, she sprinted down the steps, leapt and rolled as the locked doors exploded behind her. Rubble and dust flew towards her dangerously, and she had to flip to the side. She just caught a sight of Apocalypse, atop the stairs, looking at her with hatred in his blue eyes. Then, she had vanished, into the trees and away, as quickly as she could. As she did, her mind wandered back to the coloured man who had looked so much like Juden, the assassin. Perhaps he was a brother, or something. But there was no time to dwell on that now. She turned her headset back on.

"Zip, get a view on the area, tell me what the mercs are doing. Then, get me a helicopter out of here."

"Right away," said Zip. No messing around now. She continued to run, and on reaching a lake, dove straight in without hesitation. She had been thoroughly spooked by Apocalypse. And not just because of his appearance, nor because of the power he held. But the fact that he wanted the gemstone to help cure him. Did Lara really want it as much as he did? Amanda had only wanted to see Avalon, to see the legend. And Rutland had only wanted fame and glory. All of her past enemies had only wanted power and wealth. Apocalypse was different.

She dismissed him from her mind, delving deeper into the depths of the lake. A silver fish flitted past her and she whirled around to look at it. She followed the darting movements it made, deeper and deeper, until they reached the bottom of the lake. Here lay all sorts of stones, pebbles and in some cases large debris. Lara could feel her lungs beginning to strain, but she was interested. She swam deeper to examine a large chunk of rock, tracing her hand over markings and symbols. Suddenly, the piece of rubble shifted. Lara jumped back in surprise, nearly exhaling in the process. She shoved the rubble again. Then again, harder. It shifted, dispelling a cloud of dirt and dust into the water, revealing a small gap underneath. Lara fitted her body into it, then swam through a tunnel and into an enormous underwater cave. She hit a pocket of air, and took a deep breath. She breathed several times before looking around.

Opposite her, there was a large platform extending from the rock, about a foot underwater. Set into the rock face, there was a huge building. It was obviously made as an entrance hall, with columns either side. Lara's curiosity was aroused. Who would build such a place? She swam over to the platform and pulled herself up, wading through the water towards the entrance hall.

"Wow," Zip said into her ear. She jumped, having forgotten about him.

"Zip, I think you might have to cancel that ride home," she said. The temple in front of her was absolutely beautiful, covered with pictures set into the stone walls.

"Oh my God!" Alister said. "This is absolutely amazing! Get closer, I want a look at some of those engravings!"

Lara smiled, edging closer to the temple.

"They look of Incan nature to me," she said, rubbing dust from one of them that showed a female with a bowl atop her head collecting water from a river. She panned the other engravings with her camera, making sure that it caught every one, then moved towards the temple entrance. Here, water dripped down from the roof, and she was still wading through. The rooms on either side of the corridor she was in were beautiful. Here, there was a bathing pool, covered with colourful paintings. Here, a worship room with a large painted statue of a god. Here, a bedroom. But at the end of the room, Lara could see what she was after: another room of artefacts. She entered, mindful of the water swilling around her ankles. The room had pedestals in every corner, shelves around the walls and was decorated with more of the exquisite patterns and images. Most of the artefacts had been knocked out of their original places, but there was one that drew Lara to it. In the very middle of the room, set on a pedestal, there was another gemstone. Lara couldn't help smiling. She had found two in a day! For once, she was almost glad that Amanda had become obsessive with this Avalon legend. Lara reached out, and took it.

And the temple began to collapse.

Lara turned, hooking the gemstone securely into the back of her belt next to the other one. She sprinted out of the door and along the hall, horribly aware of the water, which was rising swiftly to surround her thighs. Wading furiously, she pushing herself through the entrance hall and out into the underground lake. Water from inside the temple was flowing thickly into the lake, foaming. Lara dived towards the bottom, swimming for the opening that had led her into the temple in the first place. She pushed her way up, into the lake and hitting the surface.

* * *

The last two exciting chapters will be online Wednesday 13th December. Hope you've enjoyed the story so far. 


	8. Chapter 7

The final two chapters. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did writing them. Thanks to everyone that reviewed, it really is great to recieve them, and sometimes they bring errors to light (like my use of a digital camera in the prologue). So without further ado, the closing chapters to Tomb Raider: The Gates of Avalon.

* * *

Chapter Seven – Return to Peru

"_It's like going up a set of stairs . . . only far less boring"_

Lara Croft on rock climbing – Tomb Raider Legend

On Lara's return, she had entered the lounge to find Zip, Alister and Winston looking interested and apprehensive. The other two gems that she had recovered were sitting on a side table next to the bigger coffee table, on which sat the printed images, Amanda's research and the book. Lara sat down in the sofa next to it, and pulled out the other two gemstones, placing them next to their counterparts.

"Do you understand it yet?" Alister asked. Lara sighed.

"No."

"Perhaps this'll help," Zip said, passing across several printed images. They were of the engravings of the temple in Madagascar. Lara stared at them for a second, finding nothing. Then she saw it.

One of the engravings pictured a young man placing a sword into a stone. Around the stone, there were five pyramid shaped objects: the gemstones! And right down the middle, there was a single yellow line. The entire engraving was placed in the middle of what looked like a key.

"Oh my God!" Lara said. "This is the answer!"

She stood up, captivated by the excitement that was crackling in the room.

"The Incas constructed the gate that would lead people to Avalon, but it was deemed too dangerous to use. It required tremendous amounts of energy to function which was why it was unstable. Therefore, a security device was placed. Not only must Excalibur be inserted, but also four gemstones, scattered across the planet."

Alister was nodding.

"However," Lara pressed on, "there were people that attempted to activate the gateway with or without Excalibur, and so a curse was placed on them." She paused. "My . . . Father . . . was one of them. They were imprisoned under the command of that book." Lara paused. "The light allows the gateway to sense when it has all keys in place! Once they are, the gateway unlocks!"

Lara stopped. Alister looked impressed. Winston looked alarmed. And Zip looked stunned.

"I'm going to activate the gate. Call Apocalypse. Tell him I'll be there with the gems. He wants them so much, he's bound to go. And I can take the last one from him."

Lara checked the stones were in her backpack for the fifteenth time, before advancing down the dark corridor, as she had all those years ago. Oh, how well she remembered it! She got to the end of the corridor, peering out. There they were, about eight mercenaries and Apocalypse. Among them was the man that looked like Juden. Lara then looked around the room. It was so beautiful, the domed roof had patterns cut into it that let in low lights, and the focusing crystal still had it's single beam of light, going down into the centre of the room. The floor and the walls were covered with patterns. Lara inhaled deeply, dropping her shoulders. Then, with Excalibur on her back, she walked into the circular room.

The mercenaries saw her first, turning from their positions and aiming their weapons. Lara took everything in, before taking Excalibur off her back, as she had in Bolivia. Apocalypse had turned, his gauntlet and his eyes glowing. Lara glared at him as he cocked his head, and asked:

"Are you afraid, girl?"

"Oh, I've gone way beyond afraid," Lara replied, her eyes narrowing sternly. "I've gone through all emotions. Now, I just want my mother back."

"And I want death. It that too much to ask?" Apocalypse said. His fist began to clench, but before he could focus the power, Lara heaved Excalibur through the air, launching a projectile of powerful green energy through the air towards him. He went flying.

And the mercenaries opened fire.

Lara dodged around, firing off concessive energy from the blade of Excalibur. One mercenary went flying into the wall, knocked out cold. Then a second. A third flew into the stone platform upon which stood the column that the gemstone was supposed to stand on. He slid down, his back clearly broken. The other five began to approach more cautiously. Lara showed no mercy, as they collapsed to the floor, one after another.

Then –

Bright blue bolts of energy shimmered around Excalibur. The sword went flying, way beyond Lara's reach. Her amazing feeling of energy . . . came to a sudden halt. Apocalypse was back on his feet again, his gauntlet shimmering.

"Just because I hate this curse doesn't mean I won't use it to cure me!" he hissed, his voice filled with hatred. Blue energy surrounded Lara, picking her up. At once, a searing pain swept through her body.

"ARGH!" she screamed. Then, suddenly, she was thrown to the floor. Blood trickled across her forehead.

Apocalypse had let her go. Then, she saw why. One of the mercenaries had got his hands on his shotgun. But rather than attacking Lara, he was running wildly at Apocalypse.

"SHE KNOWS HOW TO ACTIVATE THE GATEWAY! I CAN BRING HIM BACK! DON'T KILL HER!" She gasped. It was the mercenary who looked like Juden. Suddenly, she made the connection. They were brothers. And he wanted to bring Juden back to life. She heaved her bruised and battered body off of the ground to watch the events. The merc screamed, pumping Apocalypse with shotgun shells are fast as he could. Apocalypse was knocked back constantly. Then, there were a loud click.

Nothing happened for at least thirty seconds. Then, the merc's eyes opened in horror as Apocalypse rose, energy flowing around the glove.

"NO!" yelled Lara, as loudly as she could, but her lungs were battered so it wasn't very loud. She tried to stand, but the pain was terrible. Instead, she began to crawl along the floor to reach Excalibur. The young merc had been picked up. Lara's fingertips were just clasping the handle of the sword when she heard that final scream.

"NO!" she cried again, this time louder, because the second her fingers had touched the sword . . . warmth flooded through her body. She stood up, readying the sword, and sprinted towards Apocalypse, dancing and twirling, and letting off as many arcs of energy as she possibly could. Apocalypse responded with his own, and soon, blue and green arcs of energy were flying this way and that. It happened too quickly to see exactly what happened. But suddenly, Lara was right up close to Apocalypse's face, her teeth gritted, and Excalibur was pushing against the gauntlet. With all her might, Lara pushed, for one, final blast of energy that would end this emotional damage. The sword expelled such a wave of energy . . . that both Lara and Apocalypse were thrown backwards because of the force. Lara hit the ground . . . and was up almost instantly. But Apocalypse was less lucky. He had hit the wall, his body burned, and his neck . . . broken. Was he dead? Lara didn't know. She walked over to the corridor where she had entered, for that was where he lay, and picked out the last gemstone. Then she turned to the platform in the middle of the room. There were so many conflicting emotions as she approached it, but they could wait. She emptied her bag of all the gems and carefully placed the gemstone on top of the column. Then, she placed the other four gems into the other imprints, and stepped back to observe.

Nothing happened for a minute. Then, the sun was in the correct position, and a beam of light shone down from the heavens to hit the gemstone. It reflected light onto all four of the gems, and there was a resounding click throughout the entire room. Lara looked around. The entire floor had begun to shake! She jumped atop the platform, careful not to prevent any of the light to reach the gemstones. The circular floor was retracting into the walls! It was an amazing sight, and Lara could hear enormous cogs working to pull in the stone. Part of the platform was also sliding back, to reveal the stone where Excalibur had been taken from. But that wasn't all.

From the very bottom of the pit that the room had become, Lara could see lava and flames and heat. Four large platforms were also rising up out from the depths. And each one had a stone dais, with the mechanism still whole and complete. Lara could feel the excitement pulsing through her being as the platforms began to rise. They soon reached her level, locking into place as they were meant to. And then . . .

Lara hadn't put Excalibur down. She still held it tightly in her grip. As she placed it into the stone, she felt the same tingle she had felt at Bolivia. And the beautiful patterns on the platform and the ceiling and the daises around the room lit up with green light. Then, she tapped it once more, sending it in deeply.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight – The Gateway of Avalon

Each of the four daises powered up, their circular portals opening and lighting. Green light flew around the room in a whirlwind of sound and colour. Lara could hear an echo from the past.

"_There's something in the light!" _

"What?" called Lara, spinning around.

"_Stay here! What . . . who are you?"_

"_Mother? It's Lara! Your daughter!"_

Lara spun around again, to face the other portal where, deep in the green power, she could see . . . herself . . . less than a month ago!

"_What? What about my daughter?"_

She span around once more to look at the other portal . . . and looked straight into the eyes of her beloved mother.

"_Don't touch the sword!" _She heard herself yell. And despite the fact that every fibre of her being was calling for her to should, she knew that these events were unchangeable. But when she heard Amanda's voice, she found that there were two voices.

"_Take out the sword!"_

Lara span around again to face the corridor. Apocalypse was alive! He had his gauntlet, and she had nothing. Fear struck her in the heart like nothing else had before. He was going to ruin her chance! If she took the sword out too early, everything would be lost.

"_It will explode unless you pull out the sword!" _Amanda's voice screamed.

"_Oh God! NO!" _yelled her mother. And in that exact same moment, Lara turned, and wrenched out the sword like her life depended on it. It didn't. But someone else's did.

And then, all four of the daises emptied their power onto the central platform in a blaze of green light. The energy coming from them was fantastic, forcing Lara's body to the floor. In less than five seconds . . . everything went dark . . .

The first thing she was aware of was her own body. She felt . . . _fantastic. _The events of the last few days had left her drained, bruised and battered. But now, she felt . . . _free. _She sat up, and finally took notice of where she was. It was like looking at the room she had just been in through a glass of green coloured water. Everything had a slightly greenish tinge to it. There was no floor where she was standing, and could walk and drift wherever she pleased. She looked down on the room and saw her own body lying in the middle of the platform. Looking around, she also spotted Apocalypse, his face stretched wide in anger. But it was a freeze frame. Everything had stopped. Lara looked around her own surreal existence, and fell back when she realised that she was not alone. A figure stood in front of her. A figure with dark hair, a heart shaped face and a welcoming smile.

_Her mother. Looking exactly has she had done that fateful day, all those years ago._

Lara ran towards her, seizing her in an emotional hug.

"My daughter! Oh, how I've missed you," her mother cooed into her ear, consoling her, comforting her. Lara felt the tears welling in her eyes, splashing down her face. Her mother wiped them away.

"Oh Lara, I've missed you," she said again, kissing her at the top of the head. Just as she used to do when Lara was a child. But she pulled away.

"Lara, why have you done this?"

"Because I love you," Lara said. "Daddy loved you. He tried. And now . . . now . . . he's dead, or worse." She could feel tears coming again.

"Lara, you father is going through hell . . . because he tried to reach me. Don't let someone else suffer a similar fate, because of me." As she spoke, she indicated the solitary figure of Apocalypse. Lara stared at him . . . and saw something else other than anger in his eyes. Despair. He would never be whole. Her mother pulled her back. They both knew what she was about to say.

"NO!" Lara shouted. "IT'S NOT FAIR!"

Her mother smiled.

"But the gateway works for multiple times anyway. Rescue him. I'll still join you. _I promise._"

Lara looked her in the eyes.

"Promise?"

"Yes," her mother said. Lara stared at her. Then, she turned, and stepped back into reality. There was a rush of sound and light, as she plunged back into the real world.

She felt pain. Her body was back. She drew breath, oxidising her cells, her head spinning. Apocalypse was there, he had created a bridge of blue energy to the platform, and crossed to her. Mortal enemies. And yet, somehow, someway, they understood everything about each other there and then. Lara smiled. So did he.

"Go on," Lara said. "Before I stop you."

He took the sword. And rammed it into it's final stage. Lara turned, and looked into one of the portals. In all of them, her mother's face reflected. Lara smiled.

"See you soon, mummy," she said. But there was a sadness in her mother's eyes that Lara didn't understand. A tear trickled down her cheek.

"What?" Lara asked. There was a flash of light, and Lara turned. Lying on the platform lay Apocalypse's body. The gauntlet of death had unlocked. His face was happy at last.

And with that came a sudden crash.

"WHAT?" Lara said again, turning back to the portal. But it had exploded. She turned to another one that was still in one piece.

"Mother? Mother!" She couldn't find the words.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, my darling," she whispered. "But . . . I'm so proud of you. Remember that, Lara." Another portal had exploded. Lara shuddered as the platform shook. She could hear the lava bubbling below her.

"But . . . why?" she said. Her mother smiled, and opened her mouth. But in that instant, both portals exploded.

"NO!" Lara screamed. She strode to the stone, meaning to shove Excalibur further in. As if it would help. But the sword lay in pieces once more. Lara fell to the floor, and cried bitterly. She wanted to die. All that effort. All her loneliness. And it ended this way. She wanted to die. And she may have done. If a wind, carrying her mother's voice from another world called to her.

"_Never give up."_

And then she was running, sprinting to the other side of the platform, leaping, grabbing the edge of the wall and climbing up into the corridor. She ran, as the platform slipped over, and the shards of Excalibur fell into the flames below.


End file.
